Black Mirror co-creator Charlie Brooker has admitted the new series of the dystopian drama could be seen as a middle finger to some of the critics who were displeased the show’s most recent instalments.
After a four-year absence, the award-winning Netflix show is returning with five brand new episodes on Thursday, several of which have taken influence from horror movies.
Speaking at a Q&A about one of the new episodes, titled Beyond The Sea, Charlie was asked whether he felt Black Mirror had leaned more into horror this time around, agreeing: “Certainly, there’s quite a lot of horror.”
When a trailer for season six was released last month, many fans noticed that one episode was teased with a title card that read “Red Mirror Presents…”, which Charlie also spoke more about.
“I started out writing some under the label ‘Red Mirror’, and so that was where my mind was going,” describing “Red Mirror” as “almost a sister, crime-and-horror-led label”.
He continued: “I don’t know, it’s just the way they fell. It’s just the way they came out, as really unpleasant.
“I was aware – in the back of my head – that some people had said, ‘oh the last season was a bit frothy wasn’t it? A bit too cheerful’. Well, fuck you! But it’s just the way they came out, I guess.”
However, Charlie also pointed out that episode one of the new season, Joan Is Afraid, was “one of our most overtly comic episodes that we’ve ever done”.
Appearing in the impressive cast of Black Mirror’s sixth season are Aaron Paul, Kate Mara, Annie Murphy, Salma Hayek (playing herself, no less!) and I May Destroy You star Paapa Essiedu.
Black Mirror season six is available to stream on Netflix from Thursday 15 June at 8am.